The Internet is accessed world-wide by millions of users every day, for both business and pleasure. Internet access provides a user with connections, typically via a local telephone line, to computers and associated databases around the world, thereby promoting a rapid exchange of messages and other information.
Internet accessibility is particularly advantageous because of information delivery to users through the use of low-cost connections to other computers through local phone lines, which access heretofore would have been only possible through long-distance telephone connections or through physical transfer of data through, for example, "hard copy" printed material, computer diskettes, or the like.
One of the primary advantages of the Internet is rapid world-wide information research and access at the user's "finger tips" regarding virtually any subject. Some examples, among many others, include patent searching, stock and other financial information, newspapers, book reviews, medical research, automobile shopping, movie theater schedules, movie clips, sound clips, and entertainment reviews.
A common Internet search scenario consists of sequential steps conducted by the user as follows:
1. The user contacts, via a local phone line, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) through a telephone modem dialing program so that the user's workstation or personal computer (PC) establishes a communication link with the ISP; PA1 2. A "browser" application program, e.g., Netscape.SM., is executed on the user's PC; PA1 3. A connection to an Internet "search engine" website, e.g., Yahoo.SM., Web Crawler.SM., lnfoseek.SM., and the like, is executed by the user through the browser, thereby establishing a connection between the user's PC and the search engine website; PA1 4. Once the search engine website connection is made, a search engine input screen is then displayed on the user's PC monitor while the search engine is idle in an "input wait mode"; PA1 5. A search strategy in the form of key word search terms is provided by the user as textual input to the search engine on the search engine input screen through the PC's keyboard; PA1 6. In turn, the search engine awaits a "finished" input command from the user in the form of a mouse click of an icon control button or alternatively a stroke of the "enter" key on the keyboard; PA1 7. The user's search strategy request is then delivered onto the world-wide web through the search engine; PA1 8. A list of Internet websites (search hits or citations) and corresponding URLs (Universal Resource Locators) or website addresses are received and displayed on the user's monitor; and PA1 9. The user may then select a particular URL of interest by a "mouse click" which causes information associated with the URL to be subsequently retrieved and displayed for digestion by the user, and for further inquiries.
Alternatively to the foregoing scenario, if the URL or "website address" is known, the above steps 3 through 9 may be replaced by entering the website address into a URL input line of the browser for subsequent "direct" connection to the website and subsequent retrieving of the information associated therewith. Furthermore, steps 1 and 2 may also be reversed, i.e., the browser application, once executed, may then call up the dialing program.
Unfortunately, research on the Internet can be tedious and time consuming. This is so, since common searches on the Internet through a variety of "search engines" are indiscriminate regarding the "search hits" or citations. For example, tens of thousands of citations may be the result of a search. Further, duplicate search results may also be retrieved because of the particular search engine techniques employed.
Furthermore, as is common on the Internet, a website commonly referred to as the "home page" generally may contain hundreds of pages of information, each having its own website stemming from their home page website address, i.e., having a common root URL plus an extension name. Metaphorically, it's like a hotel having 40 floors and each floor has 40 rooms. The user, in many instances, desires only the information about a specific room at the hotel. Without prior knowledge of the "room number" it is very time consuming for the user to access the room of interest. Herein, the "room number" is referred to as the desired "destination website address.
Readers of the visual published media, such as newspapers, magazines, advertising catalogs or brochures, videos, television, or the like, may have a desire to obtain further information associated with a particular published article, advertisement, or the like, and frequently there is available, somewhere on the Internet, such further information. However, it can be difficult and is usually time consuming to access the desired information from the Internet. Thus, there exists a need for a rapid Internet destination website accessing system for obtaining supplemental information directly related to an observed or visited published article, advertisement, or publication. At the same time, there is a strong need for the publisher, advertiser, or article writer to have information regarding the specific inquirer of the information.
To explain, it has long been a frustration for advertisers and publishers, because of a lack of specific information regarding which readers or observers (if any) of an advertisement were sufficiently interested in the item(s) advertised so that they took some action (or would like to take some action) to obtain more information about the item(s). Publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies routinely expend large sums on surveys and estimates of "readership interest" but these procedures are very expensive and frequently are flawed. Furthermore, the identity of the specific "interested" reader or observer is not determined.
Heretofore, there has not existed a system to rapidly access a destination website corresponding to a visual publication, printed or otherwise visible item, e.g., a visible article or advertisement in a printed media publication, such as a newspaper or magazine, the publication itself, advertising catalogs, jackets for videos and CDs, television, videos, and the like. It thus should be understood that the word "publication" or the term "visual publication" as used herein includes all printed, written and/or graphic communications. In order to ferret out a particular website associated with a visual publication, the reader must either conduct the usual Internet search in the manner as described above, or observe a printed URL somewhere within the contents of the publication by "visually" inspecting the publication to find a recited (printed or displayed) URL Internet destination website address. If the URL Internet destination website address is identified in the publication, the website may be found in the well-known manner including the execution of steps 1-2, and entering the URL website address into the browser's input line via the user's computer keyboard as aforesaid. Of course, this may be a point of error and/or loss of desired information, particularly if there are multiple websites of interest associated with the publication. Further, and of great importance, such a system of accessing the website provides no means of capturing the combined information about (i) the inquirer or user; (ii) the publication "viewed" by the user, i.e., the publication source; and (iii) the destination URL.